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My six-year-old nephew dragged his broken leg across seven blocks of pavement to reach my porch, with his starving three-year-old sister clinging to his shirt. I was fixing a loose hinge when I heard scraping on the steps and turned to see Drew crawling toward me, pale, shaking, and whispering, “She locked us downstairs again.” I called 911 before I even understood the whole story. But when he told me about Reena’s punishment room, I knew my brother had died believing a terrible lie.

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she read Aaron’s name.

Gerald tried one last time to regain control.

“Aaron, take your wife upstairs. Calm her down.”

My mother stepped between us.

“She is not a dog you can lead out of the room.”

Patricia began to cry.

“Please,” she said. “We’re about to become grandparents. Don’t destroy the family over paperwork.”

I turned toward her.

“The paperwork could continue reading …

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